You are here

Bikers worship with congregation in unlikely pairing

The New Year dawned upon us with a wonderful high forecast in the 50s, especially relevant to Knights for Christ members of the Christian Motorcyclists Association (CMA).

It was our annual Polar Bear Run for charity once again; warm sunny weather always brings a few more bikers out for the effort than that 25 degree “Polar Bear” weather. The first of the year fell on a Sunday and it did feel a little strange not going to church, but the charity run was for a very good purpose — to help fund a homeless shelter here in Maury County through the “Precious, Chosen & Blessed” mission ministry, and missionaries overseas through CMA. Arriving at the starting point (the Senior Citizens Center right in front of Maury County Park) we opened the doors and walked into a church service. Apparently the scheduler for events had not realized that two different groups had been scheduled to use the facility on the same day — our CMA group and the GOD 1ST Baptist Church led by Pastor T.K. Blakesleay.

On any other occasion things could have been a bit uncomfortable. Angry calls could have been made to the organizers for the Senior Citizens Center; one group could have claimed “we had it first!” Both groups, however, realized a simple scheduling error had been made and both were there for a similar purpose — to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. The church had the west side of the room, we had the east side. While the church was singing worship songs we were registering bikers as quietly as possible. While they had served breakfast goodies on the counter we were cooking lunch in the kitchen. Pastor Blakesleay introduced our president Robert Bates to his congregation, explained what we were doing, prayed a prayer of protection for our bike ride, and made us feel right at home. Several of our CMA members filled in the back seats in a show of support for his church, others were paying close attention to the church service from our side of the room. When one lady was called by the pastor to give her testimony, she picked up the microphone, her eyes got big, and she stated “When I was asked to do this I didn’t know our congregation was going to be so huge!”

At times it did seem a little strange — partaking of communion to the occasional roar of Harley bikes in the parking lot. Not every church service has white bikers filing in clad in their black leathers while a black minister and his mostly black church congregation are dressed up in their Sunday best. In such an odd setting what really struck me was the spirit of love that we felt in that room regardless of our race or what we looked like. Pastor Blakesleay related a personal story in the middle of his sermon that seemed tailor-made to the occasion. Right after he got out of the Marines as a younger man, and was newly married, his old car broke down. His wife asked him how he was going to get to work and he answered “on my motorcycle.” For three straight months in the middle of winter he rode that motorcycle to work until the car could be fixed — even on snowy days and when it was 20 degrees. Wondering how to keep warm without expensive motorcycle gear, he felt the Lord gave him the idea to stuff cardboard under his jacket. It’s good insulation and works in a pinch. The police pulled him over on a snowy day and asked him if he was OK — what was he doing out there on a bike with snow on the road? His answer was he had protection because “God was on the inside keeping him warm” and he had to get to work. He never did lose control of that bike for all the three months of winter.

Well over 50 bikers joined our CMA members for a beautiful sunny ride while over a $1,000 was raised for charity.

Many businesses in the community contributed expensive door prize gifts for the effort — new helmets, motorcycle jackets, free movie tickets, free bowling games, free auto oil changes, mechanic socket sets, etc. Every biker there went home with a gift of some kind. The biggest gift to me, however, and one that I will remember for a long time, was that experience of unity with a white biker group worshipping God in a black church. God’s love has a way of breaking through racial barriers and overcoming stereotypes. That’s a little foretaste of heaven to me, and it was an excellent way to start off the New Year. I think it was the best church service I’ve ever attended unintentionally! Happy New Year everyone and God bless you!

◆◆◆

Stephen Rowland is a Columbia resident with a master of arts degree in Biblical Studies who writes on issues from a conservative, Christian viewpoint. E-mail him at mrstephenrowland@aol.com.